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"But all of the faithful are not eligible at all times to celebrate the Communion or Eucharist."

1 COR 11:27 "Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the LORD in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the LORD."

My understanding of this must be different than yours. Paul was rebuking the Corinthians for their undisciplined insincere behavior during communion. In my faith ALL believers participate in communion regardless of the sin they may have committed recently. We are all sinners and we believe that the greater the sin the more the sinner has to get back into a right relationship with the LORD.

What are the conditions that are put on parishioners in the RCC that determine whether they can take communion or not?
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"Sacramentalism is not about some sort of political equality. No one has a Constitutional right to them. That a woman is not eligible for Holy Orders does not somehow negate the sacramental system."

Getting defensive? I was just curious as to the reasoning behind some of the things you do in your church. I never said or implied a need for political equality, or constitutional right to the various rituals you perform in your church.

It just seems that in the sacraments and rituals we are discussing in your church you place barriers between the parishioner and the LORD. My reading of SCRIPTURE has shown me that JESUS took his ministry outside the temple directly to the least acceptable members of society and he made himself available to ALL.

"It just seems that in the sacraments and rituals we are discussing in your church you place barriers between the parishioner and the LORD. My reading of SCRIPTURE has shown me that JESUS took his ministry outside the temple directly to the least acceptable members of society and he made himself available to ALL."

I can understand your concern, Wmfights. If one is in a religious Community that has a tendency to minimize the Sacraments or perhaps even ignore them, they can certainly seem foreign and unneseccary. Shouldn't we just trust Christ, pray to God, and love our neighbors the way Christ loved us?

The Sacraments, however, are extremely important because they bring us to God. The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is not merely a ritual. It literally makes two individuals into Husband and Wife, it literally creates a family, a blood connection. The man and woman are joined together by God. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which you might refer to as the Lord's Supper, is not simply a ritual. In the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are literally present, and we eat them. We are, in a very real sense, in direct communion with all those who partake of the Eucharist and we come into contact with the Creator of the Universe in a particular and extraordinary fashion. Likewise, in the Sacrament of Baptism, our sins are literally forgiven, and we become a member of the Body of Christ. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled with God.

The point is, the Sacraments bring us closer to God. Indeed, Christ made Himself available to all, and He does this through the Sacraments. He is not limited to the Sacraments, but God established the Sacraments specifically for bringing us closer to Himself, for conforming us to the image of His son.

God is available to all, but to insist that one will not avail oneself of the Sacraments is to put oneself in the position of a man sitting on top of his house during a terrible flood. During the course of the flood, a raft, a motorboat, and finally, a helicopter came to rescue him, but he declined their help saying, "God is going to save me, I don't need your help." The man drowned, and when he met God in the afterlife, he protestested that God had not come to save him from the flood, despite the man's faith. God responded, "What do you mean? I sent a raft, a boat and helicopter to rescue you. You refused to be saved three times."